Francisco MartinezStephen Hawking says he's solved a black hole mystery, but physicists await the proofverified_publisherLos Angeles Times - Eryn BrownPhysicist Stephen Hawking made a splash this week when he announced that he had solved a vexing conundrum that had puzzled generations of leading physicists -- including the 73-year-old scientific superstar himself -- for the better part of a half-century. During an eight-minute speech at a …